


From Moment to Moment

by china_shop



Category: White Collar
Genre: Anniversaries, Established Relationship, F/M, Fic, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-04
Updated: 2010-08-04
Packaged: 2017-10-10 22:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/105183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/china_shop/pseuds/china_shop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they got home on Friday night, Peter unlocked the front door and ushered Elizabeth inside with mixed anticipation and wariness. Neal had moved in with them less than a month ago, and ever since, Peter didn't know what he was going to find when he stepped into his home. Their home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Moment to Moment

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to Dragonfly for beta.

When they got home on Friday night, Peter unlocked the front door and ushered Elizabeth inside with mixed anticipation and wariness. Neal had moved in with them less than a month ago, and ever since, Peter didn't know what he was going to find when he stepped into his home. Their home.

Case in point was the squat white box tied up with thin red ribbon sitting in the center of the dining table. The card on it said _Peter_ in familiar handwriting. Peter eyed it with suspicion. "Neal?"

"Just a minute!" He was upstairs, probably painting a fresco on the bathroom ceiling or throwing away all Peter's clothes he didn't like—which was most of them.

It was like living with a trickster god—or a con artist. Peter looked to Elizabeth for support, but she'd kicked off her pumps and was already heading to the kitchen. "Don't look at me. I'm just here for the coffee."

The box did have Peter's name on it, so he pulled at the ribbon, half expecting something to explode in his face. The ribbon fell away smoothly and the lid sprang open. "Neal, why is there a chocolate cake on the table?" he called.

Elizabeth came to see. "Mmmm, Sachertorte."

"A fancy chocolate cake," Peter amended.

"Before I answer that," said Neal from right behind them, "what's the statute of limitations on—"

"Neal!" Peter's warning tone was mostly habit by now, as was El's resulting grin.

"—on inappropriate sexual relations between a felon and his FBI agent?" finished Neal, innocently. He was barefoot, wearing a black turtleneck and jeans, and his hair was attractively mussed. No smudges of paint on his hands, so that probably ruled out the fresco.

Peter loosened his tie and shook his head at the same time. "I hate to burst your bubble, but we didn't have sex while you were my responsibility," he said. "Remember? You drove me out of my mind for four years, but not like that."

Neal smiled and stepped in to give him a faintly caramel-favored kiss. "I know. It sucked."

"From now on, only the good kind of sucking," said Elizabeth, moving in for her own kiss hello. Neal laughed against her mouth, then bent his head further to nibble on her earlobe, making her sigh and press against him. Peter almost forgot about the cake altogether, but he couldn't forget the other thing—the statute of limitations thing.

"Neal, what's going on?" he asked, before they all ended up in bed, mystery unsolved.

"I smell coffee," said Neal, and ducked into the kitchen, returning a few moments later balancing three full mugs, three empty plates and a knife. "Please, sit."

Peter shook his head again, fondly this time, and did as he was told. Neal liked an occasion to be an occasion—there was no rushing him. He was a lot like El in that way, though El had softened over the years and was less likely to keep Peter in suspense than she used to be.

Neal distributed the coffee mugs and then reached across and angled Peter's wrist so he could see his watch. Apparently quarter to seven was the scheduled explanation time. "It's really just that I wanted to buy the cake. So I, uh, made up an anniversary."

"An anniversary?" El raised her eyebrows. "Sweetie, we've been together less than a month. Or is this the three week anniversary of something?"

Neal shook his head. "Four years." He started cutting the cake into generous wedges. "It's, um. Exactly four years since the first time I thought about Peter. While I—"

"Oh," said El. She squeezed his shoulder, and Peter almost did the same: Neal had been waiting a hell of a long time!

"While you what?" Peter thought he knew but he wanted to hear Neal say it. His wrist was still tingling from Neal's casual appropriation of his watch.

"I think he's talking about masturbation, honey," said El helpfully. She could never resist filling in the gaps.

"I would have said 'while I took a shower'," said Neal, who never had any problem expressing himself in bed, but apparently couldn't say _jerked off_ at the dinner table. Go figure. "But yes. That." He glanced at El. "Your anniversary's in a couple of days, by the way."

She grinned. "Good to know. I want champagne, please."

"Wait," said Peter. "Okay, I get that. But since when does fantasizing warrant an anniversary cake, and second of all, you remember the _date_?"

"Date and time. Hey, it was a pivotal moment for me." Neal bent his head so his hair fell into his eyes and then shot Peter a sultry glance through his lashes. "I never wanted someone good before."

The words and the look were so at odds that Peter grinned. "Fine. If we're celebrating your rehabilitation, I'm completely on board with that."

He glanced at El. She was eyeing Neal and biting her lip, and fair enough too; they'd spent plenty of time comparing notes on the effects of Neal's stunning good looks. Even when he was obviously putting it on, he was damned near irresistible. Peter still felt he deserved some kind of endurance medal or Nobel Prize for not making a move on the guy while he was technically off-limits.

Anyway. Two could play at that game. Peter deepened his voice and continued, "And if we're celebrating _us_, then—" He leaned in and gave Neal his best smoldering look. He hadn't had a chance to use it on him before, and the response was gratifying: Neal nearly spilled his coffee and seemed distinctly lost for words.

El made a soft noise in the back of her throat. "Peter's right," she said, sounding a little raspy herself. "If we're celebrating us, the cake can wait."

Neal pushed his chair back. "Uh-huh. Yeah. You're so right."

El got up and went over to him. "Maybe you could, I don't know, act out whatever you were thinking four years ago?" she murmured in Neal's ear, just loud enough for Peter to hear too. She winked at Peter. "I'd like to help make Neal's dreams come true. Wouldn't you, honey?"

"Depends on the dream," said Peter wryly, but he got up too, and scooped them both into a bear hug, caught in a tangle of desire and affection. As their arms tightened around him in return, he got choked up. "Thank you," he said. _Thank you for loving me and each other. Thank you for waiting._

"Oh honey," said El, those two words full of understanding and perfect contentment.

Neal kissed the tip of her nose and then nuzzled the angle of Peter's jaw. He inhaled deeply, causing a rush of cool air on Peter's throat, and said, "Hey, it's win-win," in exactly the same tone of voice. "Win-win-win."

 

END


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